Fatboy Slim has revealed he didn't mince his words when Simon Cowell came to him with an idea for a DJ talent show.

The Right Here Right Now DJ told Digital Spy that he had panned X Factor boss Simon's idea for the contest to find the industry's next superstar, which has got the go ahead in the US under the title Ultimate DJ.

He said: "Simon Cowell was talking about doing a show and everyone in the business, he kind of started approaching us, and we were like, 'F*** off. No - that's a terrible idea.'

"That's the good thing about dance music; it grows organically through drunk people late at night coming up with stupid ideas. It's not something that can be scripted or transported into a TV studio."

Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, added: "I get offered loads of TV shows and they're like, 'Can you perform for five minutes?' But DJing takes two hours and an audience. It's not like you can go out there and sing your latest song. Because of that, it will always remain slightly outside the mainstream.

"At the end of the day, it's about taking a big bunch of high people and trying to get them higher, which you can't do on TV."

He also added that he gets plenty of reality TV offers, but isn't interested: "I've been offered everything from the family tree one to the jungle to Strictly (Come Dancing).

"They ask me to do Strictly every year, because I kind of know them through Zoe (Ball, his wife). A, my approach to dancing is somewhat more freestyle than Strictly, and B, the whole reality TV thing doesn't do it for me.

"Some of them I like watching, but I wouldn't want to be in them. When Big Brother first came out, me and Zoe were like, 'Oh, I'd love to go in there and find out where you go to in your head.' But what I wouldn't want is for it to be filmed and shown to everyone else. All your cracks come out."